Going Home
by HopeLessHeart88
Summary: Hyde left Point Place 5 years ago. What happens when he makes a suprise visit after all these years?
1. Suprise Visit

**A/N**: So I got a lot of positive feedback on my first little fic. And it gave me some courage to try another one. This is a slightly different type of story. It's AU, and takes place in the future. Everything up until season 6 or so happened. Maybe a few things from season 7 too. But really disregard most of season 7, and all of season 8 because we all know that season 8 never happened anyway.

**Disclaimer:** I obviously don't own any of this. I like to pretend I own Hyde though. That can be quite fun. 

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_1985. Point Place, Wisconsin.  
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Five years. Five extremely long years. That was how long he'd been gone for. He wasn't really sure how five years just up and past him by, but they had. Five years since he'd last stepped foot in Point Place. Five years since he'd left his entire life behind him. Five years 

He couldn't move. All he could do was stand there and stare at the front door. A door that he'd walked in and out of a million times before. A door that was the opening to the home he'd known so well. Any other time he would have just opened the door, walked right in, went straight for kitchen and down the stairs. He couldn't just do that now though. No, he lost that right when we walked away all those years ago. This wasn't his house anymore. He was just a stranger. So he decided to knock. And prayed to God that whoever opened the door wouldn't want to kick his ass. Although he'd probably deserve it if they did.

He reached up and brought his nervous fist to the door.

_Knock. Knock. Knock. _

He waited. As the door slowly opened, he braced himself. Not sure of who's face would come into view first. When the door finally opened though, it was with a face that he did not know. A face that he had never seen before, yet thought looked vaguely familiar. He looked down at the small body on the other side of the door, confused. His own confusion was met with two little crystal blue eyes looking right back up at him.

"Granmaw Kitty! There's some weird lookin' stranger at the door!"

With that the little girl ran off leaving a still very confused Hyde at the door. _Grandma Kitty?_ Kitty was someone's grandmother. Eric and Donna. Yes, that made perfect sense. Eric and Donna had a kid. Although the little girl didn't have red hair like Donna, or brown hair like Eric. She had dark black hair. Must be a recessive trait, Hyde thought to himself.

"Now, Lizzy, sweetie, that's no way to talk to company. I'm sure they're not that weird looking, or a stranger." Hyde heard her familiar giggle and a smile crept across his face. He'd missed that.

The door opened all the way then and Kitty appeared with the little girl by her side. Hyde saw her face perk up, and then felt her arms grab him in a tight hug.

"Oh, Steven! I can't believe you're here! How long has it been? Oh my, are you hungry?" Hyde chuckled. Some things would never change.

"It's good to see you too, Mrs. Forman."

"Oh, Steven, where's my brain? Come on in! This is really the perfect time for you to visit, everyone's in the kitchen. They're just going to die when they see you!"

Everyone. Everyone was in the kitchen. Suddenly Hyde thought he'd just made a very bad decision. Everyone in the kitchen just might want to kill him. He really didn't feel like being killed today.

"C'mon Lizzy, Steven, let's show everyone the good news!"

Kitty danced all the way through the living room to the kitchen. Hyde followed, a little less enthusiastically and slightly afraid for his life. He was followed by a tiny body with it's arms folded and giving Hyde the evil eye. There was something so oddly familiar about this tiny person Hyde thought. He couldn't quite place what it was though.

Hyde walked through the door cautiously and found 3 pairs of eyes staring at him in disbelief.

"Dude! Hyde, man! Where the hell have you been?" Kelso was the first to say anything. He got up from the table and reached Hyde. "You know, I've been here and there, man" They embraced in a quick man hug.

Donna waddled over to Hyde next. She had either let herself go in the last five years or she was carrying a baby, again. Hyde went with the latter. Apparently they'd finally started a family of their very own. Good for them, Hyde thought.

"How long has it been Hyde? Like what five years?" Donna asked giving him a hug. He hugged her back,

"Yeah, five years. And look at you Big Red a bun in the oven." Donna laughed and put her hand on her stomach lovingly.

"Yeah, and I'm married too, for 3 years now, I'm like officially an adult. How cool is that?" She held up her hand and showed her nice size ring to Hyde.

"Wow, so Eric didn't chicken out this time and run away. You finally made an honest man out of him, good for you." Hyde said with a slight laugh.

"She totally trapped me man, told me she was pregnant, so I kind of had to marry her. You know, I didn't want people to start to talk" Donna hit him then.

"After 3 years of marriage and you're still a dilhole" Donna joked. She wrapped her arm around Eric's then and went back to the table. After 3 tries, she finally sat down with the help of Eric. Eric looked at Hyde again, with a serious look on his face

"Hyde, man, it's good to see you, five years is too long . Point Place hasn't been the same without you" Hyde smiled at that, and nodded his head. Then, with his trademark mischievou**s** grin he said

"Yeah, I bet the crime rate has decreased a lot." The gang laughed.

Hyde had missed these people, but being here in the room with them he'd realized just how _much_ he had missed them. Especially one of them, whose face he had not seen yet. Hyde didn't know if that was a blessing or a curse.

"_Hide_? What a stupid name. Do you have a brother named 'AndGoSeek'? The little girl scowled at him.

"Oh, Hyde! She burned you! She burned you real good." Kelso said, putting his arm around the girl.

"Now Elizabeth, is that the way we talk to people?" Kitty went over to the young girl.

She let out a sigh and dropped her head. "No, Granmaw Kitty"

"I think you owe him an apology"

The girl shuffled her way over to Hyde, and pouted her lip at him. There was that feeling again. "I'm sorry"

Hyde let out laugh. "It's ok kid, that was a pretty awesome burn, did you learn that from your mom? 'Cuz there's no way you learned that from Eric. He's never burned someone that good before."

The room looked confused, just then Hyde heard two sets of foot steps come up the basement stairs. He felt his heart drop and his knees go weak. It was her.

"So Fez and I could only find a red and a purple.." Jackie thought she was seeing things. There was no way Steven Hyde was standing in the kitchen. "...popcicle." She finished.

"Hyde!" Fez shouted like a little kid. "I can't believe you are here."

All Hyde could do was stare at her. She looked amazing, even more beautiful than she had looked five years ago. He tried to ignore the pang in his chest and forced himself to be as Zen as possible.

"Hey, Fez. Hey, Jackie."

Jackie couldn't breath. She'd dreamt this scene about a thousand times, and now here he was. Standing in the kitchen and she wasn't dreaming. She didn't know whether she wanted to jump on him and kiss him senseless or kick him til his shins popped off. She guessed neither would be that appropriate at the moment. So she did the one thing that seemed like a good idea.

She opened her mouth, and with a calm voice she said, "Hello, Steven." 


	2. Catching Up and Million Dollar Questions

**A/N: **Wow, thanks for the reviews they really help with the whole writing process. It's nice to know people are reading and liking your story. This chapter is a biggie, please don't hate me for what I've done to the characters. Trust me, I know what I'm doing. I think. Well...I know more than the writers did during season 8. :)

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"Well I guess I'll take the red one, Mommy. Purple would just turn my mouth an ugly color." Elizabeth took the popsicle from a still awestruck Jackie.

Hyde shook his head. He could've sworn that Elizabeth just called Jackie "mommy". There's no way that could be right. Donna was her mother. Right?

Jackie, finally pulled out of her Hyde induced haze, went to her daughter, "Liz, babe, why don't you go down to the basement? Betsy's watching Punky Brewster, I'm sure she'd love the company."

"Punky Brewster! I love that show!" With that Elizabeth raced down the stairs.

Hyde felt like he'd just received a huge blow to the chest. "Wait… Elizabeth is your daughter, Jackie?"

"Yes Steven, I sorta thought that dark black hair and the shortness would be a dead giveaway." She let out a forced laugh.

"But I thought….I mean, Eric…you said Donna was pregnant and that's why you got married."

"Umm….Hyde, I don't know if you know this or not, but I tend to be sarcastic sometimes. So when I said that, I was being….uhh, sarcastic." Eric stated.

"Yep, we did it right Hyde, marriage, then baby."

"Oh. That does make sense. I mean, that explains why she was a little less than nice to me" Hyde said trying to act Zen, but really wanting to find who ever this child's father was and beat the shit out of him for even thinking about touching Jackie. Wait. No. Hyde didn't have the right to feel that way anymore. He'd run off and left her here. Alone. Of course she was going to move on.

Jackie looked at Hyde again. Making sure he was real, and with her own trademark smile said, "Well, she is definitely her mother's daughter."

Hyde understood now why Elizabeth had looked so familiar to him. She was a spiting image of her mother. Her beautifully, still very long legged, gorgeous mother. Why had Hyde felt the need to runaway from her again? Oh, that's right, he was a complete an utter dumbass.

Speaking of dumbass, "So where's Red?" Hyde asked.

"Oh, he's at work. He'll be home later. You must stay for dinner because I know he'd love to see you. And where exactly are you staying, Steven? You know…you're room's just as you left it downstairs. You could always stay there." Kitty rambled out excitedly.

He thought about staying in his old room, all those old memories. Some good, some bad. The last memory he had ..pretty bad. He shook is head. "I have a room at the hotel downtown, but I will definitely take you up on your dinner offer." Kitty clapped wildly and gave Hyde a quick kiss on the cheek.

Kelso walked over to Jackie and put his arm around her shoulder. She looked up at him and smiled. For some reason this small gesture irked Hyde.

"So what do you say we kick the kids out of the basement and do some…'catching up'?" Kelso asked with a smirk.

"Kelso, Donna's pregnant. We can't 'catch up' like we used to" Eric stated.

"Oh Eric, honey, if you keep talking like that and emphazisng words that way I won't be able to pretend like I don't know what you're talking about" Kitty said with a laugh.

Kelso frowned. "Well, we could still drink some beer and just sit in a circle. Donna," Kelso said with a smile, "you can just drink root beer, how's that sound?"

Donna smiled and wiggled free of her seat, "Sound good to me, let's go". The 6 friends all headed towards the stairs.

"Alright girls, Grandma Kitty needs your help. She's upstairs making cookies and.."

"Cookies!" The two girls said in unison. They jumped to their feet and before Kelso could even finish his sentence, they were already in the kitchen.

Kelso laughed, "Man, those two are so easy." He sat down on the couch between Donna and Jackie.

Eric sat on the couch arm next to Donna, Fez to the lawn chair, and Hyde sank down into his chair. Oh how he missed his chair. It felt surreal to be in the basement again, the whole gang back together. It was almost like he hadn't left, almost.

"So," Hyde said. "What have I missed these past five years? I want to know everything"

Eric started first. "Well, I'm actually a first grade teacher over at Point Place Elementary School. Apparently the fact that I'm still pretty much a kid myself has paid off."

Donna laughed, "You should see how much those kids adore him, but that's probably because he plays 'Duck, Duck, Goose' with them during recess. I'm still at the radio station. They've even come up with a new nickname for me 'Hot momma Donna'. How sweet is that?"

"Wow, I never thought I would see the day where they let Forman alone in a room full of kids." Hyde chuckled. "What about you, man? Still a cop?"

Kelso, now with a Popsicle in hand, "Yep. I do a lot of security stuff, like parole the malls, and stores, Jackie didn't want me to get hurt, so I try to stay out of the line of fire." He looked at Jackie and smiled.

Jackie looked at Hyde, then looked down and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. "Well, I told him if he was going to be dealing with criminals that had guns and stuff, he'd have to wear a helmet. Just in case."

Hyde was confused again. This was becoming a natural state. Five years was just too much time. He missed way too much. "Jackie, why are you so worried about Kelso?"

She looked at Hyde again, nervousness in her eyes. "Well, Steven. Michael and I…we've sorta been back together for a while now." Just then Kelso reached over and gave Jackie a kiss on the cheek.

Hyde couldn't breath. He felt like he'd just been sucker punched. Jackie ran back to Kelso. Just as she had ran to Hyde when Kelso left. He thought there was a bit of irony there, but he didn't want to think about it. He'd always thought Jackie would end up with Kelso anyway. He'd always thought that one-day, he'd look up and she'd be gone. Apparently Hyde thought right. That didn't bring him much comfort though.

Hyde sighed and regained his Zen, "Oh. Well, I'm happy for you guys, man. So Elizabeth is.." He couldn't finish the sentence because it hurt too much.

"Uhh….no, no Liz ain't mine, well, not in the biological sense of the word, but she does call me 'Daddy Mikey' which always makes me laugh."

And the confusion was back again. "So" Hyde said, "When did you and Jackie….I mean, how did you two get back together?" He just needed to know if Jackie and spent anytime missing him or if she jumped at Kelso the moment Hyde was out of sight. Even if he didn't like the answer he needed to know.

Jackie started first, "Well, it was about 3 years ago. Donna and Eric's wedding. I caught the bouquet, and Michael caught the garter. I mean when I found out I was pregnant we started getting closer. I went to Michael first because he already had Betsy, so I figured he could help me since I had no clue what I was doing. He was great. He went to every doctor's appointment with me, went baby shopping, helped make the crib, I mean he was just amazing. I really don't know what I would've done without him. But we didn't get together until 2 years after Elizabeth was born, at the wedding. And that's pretty much the whole story." Jackie finished with a weak smile.

"What happened to Brooke, Kelso?" Hyde asked.

"Well, she pretty much left me for this librarian dude she met at some convention for librarians, but we're still friends and we share custody of Bets, so it worked itself out for the better." He gave a quick kiss to Jackie's forehead.

Hyde hated himself for asking this next question, but he had to know, "So, Elizabeth's father is..?"

Four heads went down and looked to Jackie.

"He was a one night stand. Some random dude. Yeah, went out one night, met him at some club downtown, he was gone the next morning." Jackie lied and she hated herself for it, but she had to. She couldn't just come out and tell him right here in the middle of everyone. She just couldn't. Besides it's not like it would change anything. She was with Michael, and Elizabeth adored him. Michael had done a lot of growing up over the past years; he had actually turned into a pretty decent boyfriend. For starters he was faithful. Not once had he strayed in the past 3 years. Plus, he was there for her when she needed him, and that was more than she could say for Hyde.

The room went quiet. No one really sure what to say. Hyde didn't know if he believed Jackie but couldn't understand why she would feel the need to lie.

"Well, I guess it's my turn to tell you what I do now." Jackie said, trying to change the subject. "You're looking at the Health and Fashion reporter for the Channel 6 news." I'm sorta like a hometown celebrity. It's pretty cool." She smiled, the Jackie smile that always made him want to kiss her, and hug her, and touch every part of her and never stop. Hyde nodded. He wouldn't admit it to her, but he already knew that. He'd even seen a few of her special reports. He'd gotten W.B. to tape most of her segments for him. Hyde needed the little contact he could get. Even if it was only through the television screen. He thought leaving would be better for the both of them. He was wrong. Hyde had way too much pride to admit it though, and he had done pretty well for himself while he was gone. That didn't mean he didn't regret marrying Jackie when he had the chance.

"Ok, it's my turn dammit." Fez said impatiently

"Oh!" Kelso laughed, "You so have to hear this one….it's good."

"So I am now the owner of my very own salon, it's so fabulous! Plus, I moved in with Fenton about a year ago." Fez said with a giddy smile.

"Yeah, Hyde" Kelso said, "Fez is in to dudes."

Hyde laughed at that. You could always count on Fez for the comic relief, even if he wasn't doing it on purpose. "That's great, man. I'm glad you're finally happy."

"Yes, Fenty is great. He's super with helping me with my needs."

"Ok Fez, I think that's enough sharing. I really don't think any of us need to hear anymore." Eric said, saving the group from any further Fez dude-sex talk. Just because Hyde was ok with him being gay didn't mean he wanted to hear the details of it. No. He didn't need that.

"Ok kids, dinner's ready. C'mon up." Kitty's voice came down the stairs.

"Sweet! I'm friggin' hungry. This whole eating for two thing is a bitch. I didn't know I'd have to fight my kid for food." The gang laughed as Eric helped Donna off the couch and up the stairs, closely behind them was Kelso and Fez.

The two left in the basement just stared at each other, neither wanting to be the one to go first. Hyde supposed he owed her though, so he spoke up first, "So….Kelso huh?" Hyde knew what was coming next. The million-dollar question. He didn't know if he was ready or not, but he knew he didn't have a choice in the matter anyway.

Jackie smoothed her fingers through her hair, let out a sigh and with a sad smile that made Hyde's heart ache, asked the question, "So…Why'd you leave me, Steven?"

Hyde let out a tired sigh. He got up out of his chair and leaned against the deep freeze. He took his glasses off, hung them on his shirt and prepared to answer her question.

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A/N: Like it? Hate it? Somewhere in between? Let me know. Just click the little submit review button. Your reviews help me know what you like, and what you want to see and what you don't. So help a sister out, pretty please. I'm giving you the Jackie pout right now. Heh.


	3. I Don't Know and Shin Kicks

**A/N**: So here's the next instalment. Thanks for the reviews, they really help me keep going when my muse tries to leave. I'm not sure about this chapter. It went in a direction I wasn't even thinking about going. It's alright though. Umm there's a little language in this chapter, I can't help it. It's Hyde's fault. It's a shorter chapter, blame that on my damn muse. She kept running off on me. I hope you enjoy, and please remember to review. Please. Pretty please.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention to head on over to the Zenmaster thread at Fan Forum, there's a little fanfic contest going on. You should participate. I know how much we zennies love our fanfic. : )

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_1980. Point Place, Wisconsin. Hyde's Room._

_Hyde sighed. "Dammit Jackie, why can't you just be happy with what we have?"_

"_I am, Steven, I am so happy, but I need to know that you see a future for us. I can't just sit here and waste time if it's never going to happen for us. I can't." Jackie sat down on the cot, gesturing with her hands. _

"_So this whole time we've been together you thought it was wasted time?" He threw back angrily, why did she always need answers? _

"_No! God Steven, you're such a jerk. That's not what I meant and you know that." Why did he always have to do this to her? She had backed off like she'd promised him with the whole future debate for a good year, but she couldn't do it anymore. She'd wasted do many years with Michael, she just needed to know that Steven saw her in his future. "It's not like I'm asking you for a ring right now, I just need to know that someday it could happen. Why can't you just give me that. God!"_

"_Why do you need that? Three years, Jackie. This is the longest relationship I've had, why isn't that good enough?" Hyde asked her._

"_Because it's not. Please, just tell me that one day it might happen for us, please?" Jackie begged._

_Hyde sighed again, frustrated. He couldn't keep having this stupid argument, and he didn't understand why she wouldn't just stop starting it. He looked at her with tired eyes and gave her the best answer he could, knowing it wouldn't be good enough. "Jackie, I don't know."_

_Jackie immediately deflated She could feel the tears building up behind her eyes, but she willed herself not to let them fall. Her voice cracked as she spoke. "That's all you can say? I don't know? Steven, please, that's all you ever say."_

_Hyde shrugged his shoulder, looked her straight in the eye. Quietly he let out, "I just don't know."_

_Jackie let out a defeated sigh, she crossed her arms and bit her lip, "I can't do this anymore. I love you, so much that I can't breath sometimes, but I can't be with you if you just don't know. Her lip quivered as she ran towards the basement door. She let out a quiet, "I'm so sorry." And with that she was gone._

_Hyde punched the door. He let her walk away. He didn't even try to stop her, he just let her go. He'd made her cry, for the millionth time and had broken her heart again. Why did he always screw things up? Why couldn't he just say that he knew they'd be together in the future. That he'd walked past the ring shop a thousand times thinking about which ring he wanted to buy her? That he wanted nothing more than to build a family with her and love her every day for the rest of their lives? Hyde knew why. He was terrified of it, saying it out loud made it real, and that was scary as hell. _

_He needed to get out, go somewhere and clear his head. Some people would consider this to be Hyde running away from his problems, but it wasn't. That's what he told himself. He just couldn't deal with this shit right now. Jackie was probably better off with out him any way. If he left, he couldn't hurt her anymore. Yeah, that's what he was going to do. It was the perfect solution. Hyde looked around the room, grabbed his duffel bag and packed a few key belongings. He decided to leave a note for Kitty and Red to make sure they wouldn't worry, grabbed his keys, hopped in the El Camino, and took off. Never looking back. _

_Present Day. Forman's Basement.  
_Hyde let the words slip out without even realizing it, "I don't know."

Jackie was going to kill him. That was all there was to it, "Steven, I swear to God if you don't give me a better answer than that right now, I'm going to kick you until your shins pop off. Then, I'm gonna get Donna to come down here and kick your ass, trust me, you think she hit hard before, you've never seen her as a pissed off pregnant woman." Jackie stood and put her hands on her hips. "I don't now". Did he want to die?

Crap. Hyde apparently had picked up Forman's talent of going into a situation, thinking that it couldn't get worse, and amazingly, screwing it up more, "Jackie, I didn't mean that. I left so I could…clear my head."

Jackie stepped forward, crossed her arms and kicked Hyde in the shin. Hard. That was a warning shot, she thought. "It took you 5 years to clear that stupid head of yours?! Five years!"

Ouch. "Dammit, Jackie." Hyde said, leaning over to run his now throbbing shin. "I just freaked out about everything, that stupid fight we had, I was so sick of hurting you and having that same damn fight, I just figured you'd all be better off without me." Hyde pleaded.

Jackie sighed, there was no way she was letting him off that easy, "So you ran away from me because talking about our future was so scary that you had to get away? Yep, I think I've heard that one before." She moved closer again, this time kicking him in his other shin. Harder.

Fuck. "Fuck! What the hell, Jackie? I didn't run away from you ok? I just…I had to leave. I needed to do something for myself, otherwise I was just gonna end up living in the basement and wasting my life away. You deserved better than that. You still do." Hyde sighed again.

"You're right. I do deserve better than that. And I have better than that now. I couldn't be more happier, maybe you did do the right thing. Michael and I have never been closer, Elizabeth is just…amazing. For the first time in my life I'm really truly, happy. She was. For the most part.

Hyde rubbed his neck and nodded. He deserved that. "So…Kelso?" He asked again in mild disgust.

"Who'd you think I'd end up with? Fez? First off, he's foreign. Second, he's gay. Third, he's foreign! Don't get me wrong, I love him to death, but just not in that way." She shook her head. "You know Steven, I waited for you. Two years. I really thought that you'd come back. I blamed it on myself, you leaving. I promised that if you came back I'd never mention our future again. But you didn't come back, and I had Elizabeth to take care of, and Michael…he was sweet. He was there for me when I needed a friend.

Hyde thought about her statement for a second. She waited two years huh? "Jackie, how old is Elizabeth?" He asked bringing his hand to rest on his chin in a thoughtful pose.

Jackie looked at Hyde, confused. "She's five, Steven."

"Huh, five you say? And you waited for me to return for a whole two years? I may have barely past math, but the whole Elizabeth being five, and you waiting two years doesn't really add up, doll."

Jackie opened her mouth, here's your chance Jackie, she thought. "Well, Steven actually," She froze, "Actually, I'm sure you stayed perfectly single while you were gone too, right?"

"Fair enough." She had him there. "I mean it's not like I ran off to Vegas and married a stripper or anything, but no, I wasn't exactly lonely." He let a light chuckle escape.

"Ok, so when I wasn't busy not hooking up with Fez, you know what I was doing. What about you? What were you doing when you weren't off not marrying a stripper in Vegas?"

Hyde laughed. "Well, I ended up in New York. I don't really know how, I just remember looking up one day and seeing the "Welcome to New York" sign. I did a few odd jobs for awhile, worked at a couple record stores, then one day I saw an ad for work at a restaurant. Remember when I worked at that hotel?" Jackie nodded. Well, I really liked making food. It was something I was good at, and it was pretty easy. So, I worked at this one place for a while as a bus boy mainly, then their chef quit and to make a long story short I took over the job.

"Wow, so what are you doing back here? Sounds like you're doing fairly well for yourself in New York."

"Well, being here sort of has to do with the restaurant job. It was a nice place Jackie, four stars. But it wasn't me. I'm probably more of a two and half to maybe three star kind of guy. That's when I came up with a brilliant plan. I could open my own restaurant. Higher class than a dinky bar, but lower than, say a tux and evening gown place. Something like a….a high class bar. I even have a name for it." He stretched his arms out for emphasis, "The Circle. How's that sound?" He asked. Jackie couldn't help but giggle at the little kid spark in his bright blue eyes. Something Elizabeth had gotten from him, she was grateful for that.

"It sounds great, Steven. So, is The Circle," Jackie used air quotes, "going to be here, or New York?"

"Like I said, that's why I'm here. I've gotta go downtown sometime this week and look at buildings for lease. As much fun as New York was, I miss all of this." Hyde opened his arms and pointed around the room. "I miss my life and my friends." Hyde smirked and slid his glassed back on. "Believe it or not, I even missed getting the shit kicked out of my shins."

Jackie laughed, she stepped towards him once again. This time she kicked both shins as hard as she could.

Hyde doubled over in pain. Jackie started walking towards the stairs to the kitchen with a smirk on her face. "Good, because I've got five whole years to make up for." With that she flounced up the stairs to join the others.

"Dammit!" Hyde shook his head, as the stinging subsided a little he started to head upstairs. It sure was nice to be home.


	4. Baby Daddy Drama

**A/N** Thanks for all the reviews! I'm glad people are actually reading this. I appreciate all of you who take the time to review, it helps keep the confidence up. Especially when nothing wants to come out. So please review. Let me know what I'm doing good and what I'm doing not so good. Please. I'll let you play with Hyde for an hour if you do.

Don't forget to visit fanforum and the zennie thread. Drop by and pm your top 10 zennie fic.

And after you read, please review. : )

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_1980. Donna's bathroom._

_Jackie turned the box over and read the instructions. Blue line for pregnant. No line for not. Ok. Jackie let out a shaky breath. She could do this. In about, she checked her watch, 3 minutes she would know. _

_She would know, and she would have to tell Steven. Jackie had no clue how he would take it. She bit her lip. Steven could flip out. He was good at that. She figured he'd probably think she was trying to trick him into marrying her. Yes, Jackie wanted Steven to propose, but not because he felt like he had to. If he was going to ask her to marry him, she wanted it to be because he really wanted to be with her. _

_Jackie hadn't even brought up their "future" together in a good while. She didn't know if Steven had even thought about marriage and a family with her. She'd realized that being with Steven now and not knowing about later was good enough. He wanted to be with her because he was still there, she took what she could get. _

_In, she checked her watch again, 2 minutes though she was going to need answers. Jackie was going to need know if she was going to be raising this baby as a single mother, or as a family. It was probably going to start a fight, she knew that. A big fight. But it was for a good cause. Jackie looked at her watch again; she held her breath and grabbed the test. It was show time. She looked down, a small smile on her face. Blue line. She looked down at her stomach and rested her hand on it. She was scared, but a little excited too. Jackie sighed, "Time to go start a fight with your daddy, baby."_

1985. Jackie's apartment.

"Hey babe, Lizzy finally fell asleep. She made me read Cinderella to her 5 times." Kelso came into the living room and sat next to Jackie.

"Yeah, there's no way I'd ever be able to deny that she's my kid. Cinderella was my favorite bedtime story too." She said with a smile.

"So…How'd Hyde take the news?"

"What news?"

"Uhh…y'know. Liz being his? Ha, that rhymed!" Kelso laughed.

Jackie sighed. "Yeah, the thing about that…umm…he doesn't know yet."

"You didn't tell him? Jackie, you have to tell him." Kelso said.

"Yeah, I know. I will…one of these days." Jackie said distracted. She really didn't want to talk about this right now. Especially with Michael.

"No, Jackie. Look, you gotta tell him as soon as possible. I mean, can you imagine not knowing you had a kid? That would really suck." Kelso said nodding his head.

Jackie just stared at him. "No, Michael. I really can't imagine that." She shook her head. She loved the boy, but he was definitely not the brightest bulb around.

"Well, can you imagine me not knowing about Betsy? I love that little girl, it would suck a lot if I didn't know she existed."

Jackie nodded her head, "You're right Michael. And I will tell him, I just…I need to find the right time."

"Ok, maybe you should just do it like a band-aid. Quick and easy. Might make it less scary." Kelso gave Jackie a light kiss on her forehead, "Well I think I'm gonna head on home, babe.." Kelso looked at her seriously, "You have to tell him." He gave her one more quick kiss and then he left.

Jackie knew he was right. It wasn't like she didn't want to tell him, it was more like she didn't know how. How was she supposed to tell her ex boyfriend, who left because he was terrified of the future, that he was a father? The last time she tried to tell him he left for five years. How long would he leave this time? Ten? Twenty years? Jackie rolled her eyes. Yeah, the odds her definitely in her favor…not.

Jackie was brought out of her reverie by the sound of little footsteps. "Hunny, what are you doing up?" The five year old shuffled into the living room holding her stuffed unicorn. "I couldn't sweep Mommy. Can I just say up and watch tv with you 'tiw I feew sweepy again?" Elizabeth gave her mom her signature pout. Jackie never thought her own pout would make her weak in the knees, then again she never imagined her pout paired with Hyde's crystal blue eyes.

Jackie smiled, defeated. "I suppose. It is a weekend. So what do you want to watch tonight?"

Elizabeth snuggled up next to Jackie on the couch. "Hmm…can we watch Grease again? Pwease?"

"Sounds good to me." Jackie got up and went to the tv, grabbed the movie and put it in the VCR. She grabbed the blanket on the back of the couch and threw it over her and Elizabeth. Elizabeth smiled and snuggled closer to Jackie.

Ten minutes into the movie and there was a knock on the door. "It's probably just Daddy Mikey trying to ruin our girl time." Jackie said with a fake frown.

"Elizabeth sat up, excited. "Yay! I love Daddy Mikey! And so does Fuffy-Cakes Jr.!"

Jackie laughed. She got up and went to the door. "Are you trying to sneak in a last minute booty-call? Because if you are.." Jackie opened the door, her eyes not expecting to meet a familiar pair of icy blues hidden behind rosy colored shades..

Hyde smirked. "Well, I wasn't, but now that you mention it, it would be a pretty awesome welcome home gift." He may have been prepared for Jackie's retaliation kick, but that didn't make it her any less.

"Daddy Mikey! Daddy Mikey!" Elizabeth ran to the door, her smile turning into a frown as soon as she saw Hyde at the door instead of Kelso. "Oh, it just you. C'mon Mommy, wet's finish the movie." She tugged at Jackie hand. "Elizabeth, sweetie, just wait one second ok?"

"Wow, she really doesn't like me. How badly did you diss me while I was away?" Hyde asked as he stepped into the apartment.

"I didn't really say much about you. She's just weary of new people. What exactly are you doing here?" Jackie folded her arms blocking Hyde's path to the living room.

Hyde took a step back. "Honestly? Don't kick me, I don't know. I was just out walking and I somehow ended up here."

Jackie raised her eyebrow. "Well…I guess since you're here you can stay. Only if you want to watch Grease."

Hyde cringed. "Jackie, do you know how many times you made me watch that movie?"

Jackie gave him the evil eye and looked like she was ready to kick again if he said something bad about her favorite movie.

So Hyde did the honorable thing and gave in. "Umm…and do you know how much I've missed watching it? Really, it should be fun." Jackie smiled and reluctantly let Hyde pass to the living room.

Elizabeth let out a sigh. "He's staying? But mommy, this was girr time."

"Elizabeth, I promise Steven's not that bad. And he loves Grease. He used to watch it with me all the time."

She sighed again and crossed her arms. "Fine. I mean if he likes Grease he's gotta be ok."

"Good. Ok, I'm gonna go get some snakes in the kitchen. You two try to play nice."

Hyde sat down in the chair next to the couch; he could feel a pair of tiny eyes on him the entire time.

"Can I help you?"

Elizabeth raised her eyebrow, still staring. "You have curry hair," she stated.

Hyde let out a quick laugh. "You are a very observant little girl."

Elizabeth went on, "When Mommy doesn't bow dry my hair, it gets rearry curry. Rike your hair, onry mine is ronger and darker. Mommy says daddy has rearry curry hair just rike me."

Hyde had a thought. His heart started to beat faster. "Elizabeth, when's your birthday?"

Elizabeth moved closer to Hyde's chair, always liking to talk about herself. "November 14, 1980. Mommy says I came right on time and then there was somethin' about exacty nine months. I kinda stopped hearin' her though. Sometimes Mommy goes on and on rearry fast and I just can't keep up."

Hyde couldn't breath. Nine months from November 14th, 1980. He did the math. Valentine's Day. That was the last time…He was losing it. Hyde thought his heart was going to beat out of his chest. Hyde took his glasses off and rubbed his face. There was no way, was there?

Just then, Jackie came back with a bucket of popcorn and three glasses of pop. She saw the look on Hyde's face. Something was up. "Umm…Elizabeth can you go say to your room and put your toys a way."

Elizabeth looked confused. She looked back and forth between Jackie and Hyde. They were staring at each other intensely. She knew that something was going on. Grown up talk. So boring. "Ok Mommy."

Hyde cleared his throat and stood up, slowly. "So, Elizabeth has a problem saying her L's?

"Yeah, she's been that way for a while, but we're working on it." Jackie let out easily. She knew he was going somewhere with this and she knew from the look on his face it was nowhere good.

"Funny thing, I had that same problem when I was little. That's pretty funny…right?" Hyde stared into Jackie's eyes. His blue eyes dead serious.

He knew. Jackie knew he knew. "Yeah, that's crazy right?"

Hyde nodded his head and crossed his arms. "And she has curly hair, from what I remember your hair is pretty straight. And her eyes….Jackie her eyes. She said her birthday was November 14th and all I can think is she's five year's old, and nine months before November." Hyde was almost shaking now, his voice cracked as he spoke. "Jackie, is Elizabeth…I mean, I know what you said, but it doesn't add up."

Jackie let the breath out she didn't know she was holding. She had to tell him. There was no way she could deny him the answer with that look on his face. She nodded, slowly. A tear fell down her cheek as she shakily let out her answer. "Yes, Steven. Yes. You're Elizabeth's father."

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So what'd you think? Good? Bad? Just click the little button and let me know. Reviewing is good for the soul. : ) 


	5. Leaving, Again and Telling Elizabeth

**A/N: **So this chapter kicked my ass. Hard. So I may have sort of stolen the scene in the flashback from Dawson's Creek. Just a little though. Or at least I stole the idea of the scene. It's totally not my fault. Blame TBS. They were showing the episode when I was writing..so yeah, you can blame them. It's an awesome scene, I mean mine's ok, not nearly as good as the original. So if you catch it, you should go watch it. It's a great episode. Well..the episode itself is ok, but the scene that I sorta stole from the episode is just beautiful. If you have no clue what I'm talking about, I apologize.

Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. The flashback is suuuupper long. So the chapter is a little longer than the last. Please, please, pretty please review. I love hearing what you think. It helps me keep going, sometimes I don't know if anybody is actually enjoying this story, so getting reviews let's me know people are reading at least.

Don't forget to vote over at fanforum for you favorite Zen fic. The deadline for voting is coming up soon.

Ok, on with the story enjoy and review. : )

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_February 14, 1980. The Basement._

_Jackie walked down the stairs with a smile. Hyde, holding her hand, was close behind._

"_Puddin' Pop, that was the best Valentine's Day present ever. Dinner at my favorite restaurant, jewelry, roses, and you in a tux." _

_She held up the heart shaped necklace she was wearing. People wouldn't know it, but Hyde was the most romantic person she knew. She turned around and put her hands on Hyde's muscular stomach that she could feel even through the fabric of his tux. Damn, he looked good dressed up. She thought about dragging him into the bathroom at dinner for a quickie, and if their food hadn't arrived when it did she would have. _

_Jackie gave him a small smile. "Steven, thank you. I know how much you hate dressing up and being fancy." She gave him a light kiss on the lips._

_Hyde returned the kiss. He put his hands around her tiny waist. "Yeah, but I do love watching you get all dressed up. However, if you tell anyone about how girly I've been tonight, I'll never do it again. Got it?" He pointed his finger out at her. _

_Jackie laughed and nodded her head. Hyde looked her body up and down, she was so amazingly beautiful when she laughed. And that dress, Oh, man that dress. __It __had him distracted all night. There had been a moment at dinner when one of her straps fell lightly off her shoulder, Hyde thought about having his way with her right there and then. If it hadn't been for all the damn people he would have._

_Now, here in the basement they were finally alone. Hyde gently pushed Jackie up against the wall on the other side of the stairs; he brought his hands up to cup her face and gave her a deep, passionate kiss. He pulled away and looked at her, God she looked so beautiful tonight. Her hair fell in light curls around her face, her make up was light, just enough to bring out her best features. . She looked at Hyde, her big mismatched eyes glowing with the love she felt for him. Her lips, Hyde loved her lips. Whether she was talking or yelling or just smiling at him they made him constantly feel the need to kiss her. So he did what his brain told him and kissed her again, her mouth opening to allow his tongue access. He loved the way she kissed too. She always kissed like it was the last one she might ever give, as if her whole body was focused on kissing him, and he loved that feeling. _

_He pulled away from her again just savoring how wonderful her tiny frame felt crushed up against his. "I know I've told you a few times before but Jackie, you're beautiful." _

_She smiled at him. He had been so wonderful tonight. She couldn't believe how in love with him she was. It was hard for her to remember a time when she wasn't in love with him. Jackie felt like she'd always loved this boy in some way since the first time they met. Sometimes she couldn't believe how long it had taken for her to come to her senses. All the years she had spent wrapped up in Michael Kelso when she could've been here, with him. She guessed they both needed the time though. That maybe they had both been a little too young, and a little too stupid to see how perfectly they fit together. _

_Jackie ran her fingers through the curly hair at the nape of his neck; she spoke quietly in a voice that was only meant for him. "I know I've told you a few times before but Steven, I love you so much." _

_She kissed him this time, deep and slow as if she was trying to show him just how much she meant what she said. Jackie took Hyde's hand and led him into his room; it was time for his Valentine's Day gift. She sat him down on the tiny cot and ran her fingers through his hair. "You've been so sweet and amazing tonight. I think it's time I return the favor." she slid her hands down to his face and ran her thumbs of her cheeks._

"_Jackie, you don't have to do.." Hyde was stopped by Jackie's tiny finger. _

"_I know I don't have to, but I want to. I mean you've done so much for me. You let me cry on you every time I got upset, and always knew exactly what to say to make me feel better. She moved her hands to Hyde's tux jacket, taking it off._

_Hyde cleared his throat, trying to remain calm and not lose his cool. He was failing miserably. "Well, I mean I just didn't want to deal.." she kissed him again, this time slightly deeper. _

"_You took me to Prom, you hate school dances." Her fingers moved to his tie, loosening it, then slowly pulling it off of him. "You taught me to be Zen, and gave me the courage to stand up to Laurie." Jackie went to his neck leaving light kisses from his jaw line down to where his shirt rested as she took her time undoing every button. Jackie's voice was low, almost coming out as a whisper. Her eyes shone down at him glazed over with all her feelings for him._

_Hyde was gonna die. He wanted to touch her, to pull her down and have his way with her, but he was enjoying her ministrations so he sat there and watched, even though it was killing him in the best way possible. _

_As she undid the last button she slowly slid the shirt off of Hyde's muscular shoulders. "You punched that guy in the face for me, defending my honor." Jackie reached for his undershirt, as all Hyde could do was raise his arms to help her._

_Hyde moved his mouth and tried to speak, it took him a second try to get his mouth to cooperate with his brain. "Jackie, I wasn't really defending your honor, I just didn't want that guy to .." Jackie's lips silenced him again._

_Jackie slid her dress straps down her shoulders and looked at Hyde again. "You risked losing one of your best friends to be with me. You called me your girlfriend first, Steven." _

_Hyde couldn't breath. This girl was amazing. So beautiful, sexy and so much women, yet sweet and innocent like a child all at once. He loved her so much. He was sure from the way his heart was constricting in his chest. "I mean I didn't really risk his friendship.."_

"_Steven! You never wanna talk, can you just let me seduce you! God! I'm trying to give you your present and all you wanna do is gab, gab, gab." Jackie crossed her arms and jutted out her hip. She looked down at Hyde with her sternest look." And all Hyde could do was smile, he had to have her, be inside of her now."_

"_Hunny" He said standing up to capture Jackie in his arms. "You seduced me along time ago. C'mere" He growled, pushing her dress the rest of the way down her body as she worked on his buckle. _

"_You didn't wear anything underneath your dress." Hyde stated shakily as he moved her towards the small cot._

"_Of course not. That would have caused panty lines, and that's just tacky." She breathed out letting him crawl on top of her._

_He kissed her again, moving his hands up and down her wonderfully smooth body, feeling every curve and nook. He moved his mouth to her neck, to her spot and shivered as a moan escaped her lips._

'_Steven, please, I can't wait, I need to…to feel you now." She pleaded with him._

_Hyde slowly sunk down into her. God he loved this. Being with her, like this it was best feeling in the world. _

_He looked down into her beautiful lust filled eyes. "I love you," he whispered into her forehead with a kiss._

_Jackie thought she was going to cry from how wonderful the evening had been, to how amazing he felt inside her now, and for hearing him saying those words. Jackie knew that even though he didn't say it a lot, he loved her, but it was still nice hearing the words every once in a while. "Oh, Steven! " she moved with him, giving him another deep kiss. "Make love to me all night long, ok?"_

_Hyde moved in deeper, letting out a quiet moan. "Sounds good to me, Baby Cakes."_

"_Oh, Happy Valentine's Day Puddin' Pop!" Jackie smiled._

_Hyde kissed her again. "That it is, doll. That it is."_

_1985. Present Day. Jackie's Apartment._

Hyde didn't know what to do. He was shocked, confused, and angry as all hell. He clenched his fist.

Elizabeth was his daughter.

He had a kid.

A five-year-old daughter that he never knew about.

Because he left.

So Hyde did the only thing that he knew to do when things got completely and utterly fucked up. He bolted. Without a single word, or a single look to Jackie or his surroundings, Hyde left.

Jackie didn't know what just happened.

Steven had showed up.

He was talking to Elizabeth

He asked if Elizabeth was his daughter.

And Jackie told him.

And he left.

Again.

Typical Steven Hyde. Always leaving when things got complicated or emotional. Jackie sighed. "Jackass."

She decided there were two things she needed to do. The first being to call Donna. "Yeah, Donna? Umm…so, Steven knows about Elizabeth. Yeah. He _knows _knows. Well…he kinda…just left. Yup. Sounds good. Ooh! And please, bring the chocolate. Oh! And the ice cream. K. Cya in a few."

The next thing wasn't as easy. She had to tell Elizabeth. And that was the thing about raising a little Steven Hyde/Jackie Burkhart Jr. They got mad, clamed up, and stayed mad until they were good and ready to tell you how mad they were and why. Then it took them a few more days of telling you that they were mad at you before they finally got over it. Why had she ever felt the need to sleep with Steven Hyde and breed?! Jackie cursed the Heavens above. Then she smirked and thought about that special Valentine's Day. Oh, yeah, because he was so damn good in bed.

She went to her room and found a box marked 'Jackie Hyde'. "Ok, I can do this. Elizabeth, hunny, we need to talk."

Elizabeth skipped down the hall to Jackie's room. "Are you done with the grown up talk? Do you know how annoying grown up talk is? It's so boring. Wait. Where's Hyde, Mommy?" Elizabeth jumped up on her mother's bed with her unicorn in hand.

Jackie smiled at her daughter and brushed a hand through her dark hair. "That's what we need to talk about, sweetie. There's something you need to know about Ste… about Hyde." That name sounded so foreign coming out of her mouth.

Elizabeth bit her bottom lip and looked as if she was thinking about something really hard. She looked up at Jackie, her own pair of mismatched eyes showing understanding. "He's my daddy? Mommy, am I right?"

She forgot she was dealing with a little Hyde, so intuitive for such a little creature. Jackie nodded.

Elizabeth looked down, a little sad. "Did he leave us cuz' of me? Did he not want me?" Her bottom lip started to quiver.

Jackie hugged her daughter. "Oh, no. That's not what happened. He left before he even knew about you. He left because of me." She gave Elizabeth a kiss on the forehead. "Steven leaving is not your fault, ok sweetie? Don't you ever, ever think that."

Elizabeth sniffled. "But…he knows now. And he left. He left because he's doesn't ike me." She sobbed.

Jackie hugged her tighter. "No, baby girl, he left because he was mad at me. He was mad at me for not telling him about you sooner. I swear, Elizabeth, he never would have left if he knew about you five years ago. I know him well enough to know that."

All of a sudden Elizabeth stopped crying. Jackie knew what was coming next. "So…Hyde is gone cuz' you made him leave. You made him mad and he… he left. Why did you do that?! He's my daddy! You need to be nice to him." And with that she stomped off to her room and shut her door. Jackie hung her head. "Yeah, there's that wonderful Steven Hyde temper." She left the box in her room figuring that she'd have to tell Elizabeth the whole story another time. Finally, Jackie heard a knock on the door.

"Oh my God, Donna please tell me you brought the Moose Tracks ice creak with you!" Donna smiled at her little friend bringing both bags into view. "I didn't just bring one tub, I brought two." Jackie gave Donna a hug as she came inside. "I knew there was a reason I liked you."

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You can't see but I'm giving you the Jackie pout. Please just take a second and review. Even if you only say 'I like it" or "yuck" It helps with the writing process. Ok so maybe not so much the "yuck" reviews, but I mean not all reviews have to be positive. Just review. Hyde will let you sleep on his cot for a night if you do. : P 


	6. Girl Time, Guy Time and Apologzies

**A/N: **Wow so is really screwy. Luckly, I've found a way around the screwyness, yay! Thank you all for the wonderful reviews, I know I say it all the time but I seriously love them to death. I've heard others writers refer to reviews as crack..and it's totally true. I'm addicted. I hope you enjoy this chpater. It took me awhile. I don't know how I feel about.

Oh, and I still don't own any of this. Heh.

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Jackie and Donna were sitting on the floor with their backs against the front of the couch. There were chocolate bar wrappers scattered across the floor in front of them. Both had a tub of ice cream between their legs with huge spoons sitting in them. 

"So, he didn't even say a word? Not even 'Whatever'?" Donna asked doing her best Hyde impression.

Jackie shook her head. "Nope, nothing. He just clenched his fists and left. No yelling or anything. Y'know, he's really nailed that whole getting up and leaving thing, though." Jackie said, shoving a big spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

Donna furrowed her brow. "Jackass."

Jackie nodded her head in agreement, speaking through a full mouth. "Yup, that's what I said."

Donna rested a hand on her stomach. "How'd Elizabeth take it?"

"Well, picture a little Steven mad. Then throw in a side of me mad and yeah, that's about how well she took it." Jackie said scooping up another spoonful of ice cream.

Donna laughed. "So, first she yelled at you and then she stomped off to her room and pouted until she fell asleep."

Jackie nodded. "Yep, pretty much." She let out a tired sigh. "I just don't know what to do. I mean I get that he's mad and I totally think he has a right to feel that way. But when was I supposed to tell him? He's been in town for like not even a full day yet. I was gonna tell him Donna, I just…I needed some time."

"He may have the right to be a little upset, but if I know Hyde as well as I think I do, he's not mad at you for not telling him right away. He's mad at himself for leaving his child. I mean, look at his parents Jackie. I know Hyde never wanted to be like them. He never would have left if he knew about her, you gotta know that." Donna looked at Jackie with a sincere face.

Jackie bit her bottom lip. "Yeah, I know. I just don't know what to do. I mean if he leaves again, Elizabeth will just die. And she'll probably never talk to me again."

"He won't leave. He's got that restaurant here now remember? Just give him some time to comprehend this whole being a dad thing." Donna said, reaching for more ice cream.

"Would you ever in your wildest dreams think that we'd be sitting here one day talking about my child with Steven Hyde? Life is crazy I tell you." Jackie brought her hands up to her cheeks and shook her head.

Donna smirked. "Actually, I don't know. You and Hyde have kinda always had a thing. Even though you say you used to hate each other, I really think that's not the case. It was more you scared the crap out of him. And I think you've always had a thing for him. I mean normally as soon as you and Kelso would break up you'd flock to Hyde for comfort. I think in the back of my mind I always thought you two would find a way to work things out. You just needed some time to grow up. You were good for each another."

Jackie's mouth dropped. "Wow, Donna I always thought you hated me and Steven together. I mean remember that whole catching us in the basement and yelling at us thing? And the universe ending if we didn't tell Michael? Ooh! and what about the whole unatural and creepy thing? Or how about the how could we do that to Michael thing?"

The red head put her hands up trying to stop the tiny brunette from going any futher. "Ok, so maybe I over reacted slightly at first."

Jackie's eyes bugged out. "Slightly?"

Donna shook her head. "Ok, I freaked out big time for no reason. There? You happy?"

Jackie smiled, scooping up another spoonful of the tasty treat. "Yes, thank you."

"You and Hyde...it was a little bit of a shock. After all those years of saying how much you hated each other, it was a shock to the system to see you joined at the mouth. But the more I thought about it, the more you and Hyde made sense. You pushed him to open up and learn to trust the people he loved and that loved him, he helped you grow up a lot and made you be a little less shallow. You really had something. Plus you two were always going at it like horny rabbit so no, sitting here talking about Hyde's and your baby is not really that weird. Speaking of babies, I gotta go pee, this kid apparently has no where else to lay but on top of my bladder." Donna made her way up, with some trouble and waddled to the bathroom.

Jackie laughed. She supposed there was some truth to what Donna had said. Jackie had always known there was something special between her and Hyde. Even in their earlier years of being so-called enemies. Sometimes after he'd really burned her badly he'd come and find her, making sure no one else was in hearing range. Hyde would put a hand on her shoulder and mumble something about Jackie knowing he was just joking around and maybe being sorry he had hurt her feelings. Then he'd simply clear his throat, remove his hand and walk away. Always leaving Jackie with a smile on her face and a warm feeling where his hand had been.

Jackie shook her head. None of that mattered anymore. Whatever she and Steven had back then was clearly gone now. He ruined it when he left. And Jackie was finally happy again, with Michael. She loved him. Jackie assured herself. All that they shared now was Elizabeth. An extremely sad and angry Elizabeth. Nothing else. Jackie repeated to herself. She loved Michael. And Michael loved her. He didn't run away this time. He stayed. He was there for her. And Steven Hyde left. Like a big, cowardly baby. Michael had told her time and time again that he could see a future for them, and Steven couldn't even tell her he saw them together tomorrow. It didn't matter if he came back and looked like he was staying, he didn't come back for her, he came back for a stupid restaurant. Plus, he walked out on their baby, twice! What they had was in the past. He had made his choice 5 years ago, and since then Jackie had moved on and was finally happy. Without him. She kept tried to keep reminding herself

So why couldn't Jackie take her eyes off the door, hoping to see a curly fro and blue eyes walk through it and make everything better?_

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Forman's Basement.

Led Zeppelin played and smoke filled the air. The four men took their seats and had a much needed circle.

"I just can't believe it. I have a kid, man. Like I'm responsible for a little human being. And nobody told me about it. You all knew and you never said anything. Man, if I wasn't feeling so good right now, I'd kick all your asses." Hyde pointed around the circle.

"Hyde, you left and didn't tell anyone where you were for 5 years. It's not our fault man, it's yours." Eric said.

"Ha, yeah Hyde. And I've been raising your daughter for the past 5 years… that's like the best burn ever. Ow! Dammit Hyde!" Kelso yelped grabbing his throbbing arm.

"Kelso, even I saw that one coming. Hey, who took my candy?! You three sons of three bitches! Oh, never mind it was in my lap." Fez grabbed a tootsie roll and chomped on it happily.

"Guys, I'm so glad we got to do this. We don't get to do this enough anymore. What with all the leaving, marriage and babies being born. It's like we're adults or something. When the hell did that happen?" Eric said waggling his eyebrows.

"Yeah man, it's crazy. I left because I was terrified of my future, and I came back to a future that happened anyway. Who knew so much could change in 5 years? I have a daughter. A little girl. A tiny little person. Oh man, I'm gonna have to lock her up when she hits 16. If she looks anything like Jackie did at that age…oh man, I'm in trouble. I need a gun." Hyde freaked out.

"Dude, you're not gonna have to wait til' she hits 16, try 14. With Jackie's genetics she's gonna get hot super fast. Ow! Damn, Hyde! It was compliment I swear!" Kelso rubbed his arm again.

"Do not talk about my daughter like that ever again. What if I said something like that about Betsy, huh?" Hyde said pointing his index finger at Kelso.

"Well, I mean, you've seen Brooke. And you get to see me every day. Of course our kid is gonna be hot." Kelso said matter of factly.

Eric laughed. "I am so glad I'm having a boy."

Fez sighed. "I wish Fenton wanted to adopt. I'd love having a Fez Jr. around. Ai, the fun we'd have."

"No offense Fez, man, but I think one Fez is all the world can handle." Hyde said with a smirk.

"Ha, I gotta agree with him little buddy." Kelso said looking over to Fez.

"Ehh, it's ok. You're probably right. Plus a kid would ruin mine and Fenton's alone time. And I can't have that, I have needs." Fez said grabbing another tootsie roll.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do about Elizabeth. I want to be a good dad, but I don't know how. It's not like my parents were good examples." Hyde sighed.

"Have you tried not running away? Ok, I know the hit is coming, just get it over with. Ow!" Eric grabbed his arm.

Hyde rubbed his eyes. What a long day. "I just ….never in my wildest dreams did I think this would be my life. Me and Jackie have a kid. How unbelievably weird is that, man?"

"Hyde, it's not that weird. You two were like always all over each other. I mean there was a time when I was jealous of much sex you were getting." Eric said.

Hyde laughed. "Yeah man, I guess you're right. We did have a lot of sex. Great sex." He said looking over at Kelso who just stuck his tounge out at him and crossed his arms.

"So, like what are you going to do Hyde? I mean you pissed off two of worst people to piss off. I mean seriously, we're talking Darth Vader levels here." Eric said.

Hyde sighed. "Man, it's been five years! I can't believe you haven't gotten over that crap yet!"

"I can't help it man, I just can't believe it's all over." Eric said with a small sniffle. "So, seriously, what the hell are you going to do?"

"Well, apparently when I left, I walked away from not one, but two women. Two women with insane tempers. Pretty much, I'm thinking I need to do a lot of apologizing. Not my favorite thing to do, but if I don't I think they might gang up on me and take both of my shins out." Hyde took a shaky breath. "I just don't want to be Bud." He said, shaking his head.

"Hyde, that's really cool that you wanna be there for Lizzy, I respect that, but like, you're not gonna try to get Jackie back are you? Because we're happy, and I kinda love her. So we might have a problem if that's what you want." Kelso said worried.

"No, man. I screwed up big time; she wouldn't take me back if I tried. She's happy, that's great. Just don't fuck up this time Kelso. If you break her heart, you're dead." Kelso nodded.

Hyde knew that he royally screwed up with Jackie. He understood that what they had was in the past now, and that was the choice Hyde made when he left her here. Pregnant and alone. He left the mother of his child alone to raise a baby by herself. All because he freaked out and ran. He couldn't think about that now. He had a child he needed to be a father to. If Elizabeth and Jackie would let him. That was a huge if.

_

* * *

_

The next morning. Jackie's Apartment.

Hyde walked up to the door nervously. He knew this wasn't going to be an easy task, and that there was no way he was going to walk out of the apartment without getting at least one shin kicked. However, it was a risk he was willing to take. He looked down at the peace offerings he was holding, slightly disgusted with himself. This was such a Forman thing to do. Hyde shook his head, desperate times called for desperate measures he reminded himself.

Jackie was busy making breakfast for her and Elizabeth. She figured making Elizabeth's favorite food would help her be a little less mad.

"So hunny, how are your pancakes?"

"Mommy, they're good. You know I ike your pancakes." Elizabeth said scooping another bite into her mouth.

Jackie may have not always been the best cook, but after having Elizabeth she realized it was about time she learned. So with a lot of patience from Kitty, and a lot of failed attempts, she finally learned to be a somewhat decent cook. "Well I'm glad you liked them sweetie. So are you still mad at me about your..me and Steven?" She said not really sure if Elizabeth was ready to call him "Dad".

Elizabeth sighed and shook her head. "Not really. Now I'm mad at him. He ran away from us mommy! How stupid!!"

Jackie nodded. "Yeah, that wasn't very nice of him was it? I'm sure he'll comeback. He just…well he gets freaked out pretty easily, especially when it comes to me. Apparently I'm good at scaring him."

Elizabeth giggled. "But mommy, you're so wittle. If you scare him, I must scare him so much more cuz' I'm a wot wittler than you are."

"You have no idea how right you are." Jackie said reaching over the counter top to give her daughter a kiss on the forehead. Just then they heard a knock on the door.

"Oooh! I wanna get it. It might be Daddy Mikey with a present for me!" Elizabeth said running to the door.

Hyde held his breath as the door opened and he was met by his own blue eyes and Jackie's pout staring up at him. He was speechless. For a second Father and Daughter stood facing each other in complete silence. Before Hyde knew what had hit him, Elizabeth wrapped her arms tightly around his leg, clinging to him.

"Pwease don't go again." Elizabeth sniffled into Hyde's pant leg.

Hyde's heart sunk. If he hadn't already felt like shit for leaving, he sure did now.

"Elizabeth, who is it…oh. Hi, Steven." Jackie tried to look mad, but it was seriously hard trying to hold back the smile she had at the sight in front of her.

"Mommy, I know we're mad at him for weaving us wast night, but…but...umm." Elizabeth looked up and saw the box of chocolates and the purple unicorn Hyde was holding. "Wook! He brought presents! That means he's awowed in." Elizabeth let go of Hyde's leg to reach up and grab his hand, pulling him into the apartment.

"Yeah, ok. I think we need to talk anyway." Jackie said smiling at the way Hyde was looking at Elizabeth.

Elizabeth stopped her movements and looked up at her mother with big eyes. "Mommy, wast time you two talked, he ran away."

Jackie bent down to give Elizabeth a hug. "Steven, can you tell Elizabeth here that you won't leave this time?" She said looking up at Hyde needing to hear the answer as much as the little girl did.

Hyde cleared his throat. Upset with himself for making his little girl afraid that every time she left the room he was going to bolt. God, he was such a jackass. "I promise. No more leaving."

Elizabeth, satisfied with that answer, grabbed the unicorn from Hyde and pranced off to her room.

"Wow, so that whole buying stuffed animals things really works." Hyde said as he watched Elizabeth go shut the door to her room.

"Yep, pretty much."

"Huh, I would have bought you some had I know it would've worked that well." Hyde said moving over to the couch.

"Yeah, well, you should have listened to me more. I'm right about a lot of things." Jackie said moving to the couch as well, smoothing her hands over her hair. "So, what are we gonna do?"

Hyde took his sunglasses off, knowing that this conversation was too serious to hide behind them. "Look, I know I've got a lot of making up to do. What I did, well, it wasn't the smartest thing. I shouldn't have let you walk out, I should've sat down and talked with you. I should have done anything but walk around saying 'I don't now' and then just up and leave. And if I had known about Elizabeth back then...I would have stayed. I'm sorry, for everything, and I know that this apology is about 5 years too late. I just…I don't wanna be like Bud. Or Edna. I want to be here for Elizabeth." Hyde looked down at his boots. He'd never spoke out so much in his life. He figured it was a good time to learn though, and he definitely owed it to Jackie.

Jackie was shocked. She'd never heard Steven talk so much. Or apologize. "Well I guess when you left you learned how to open up and talk. At least you were being productive while you were gone." She said with a nervous smile. She wrung her hands, getting serious. "I'm glad you want to be a dad to Elizabeth. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you about her that night. I was just…scared. I didn't want you to think I was trying to trap you into being with me or something. But you're right; you shouldn't have left like that. You killed me Steven. You really did. I'm still not over it either, but I can put it aside for Elizabeth's sake. If you want to be in her life though, you can't just get up and leave if things get hard. I won't have that." Jackie finished as she wiped a stray tear from her eye.

"Ok, I promise. No more running when I get freaked out." Hyde said putting his hand out for Jackie to shake. Jackie shook his hand as a small smile crept over her face.

"So, I was just gonna go downtown and look at the building I'm thinking about using for my restaurant. Would you and Elizabeth like to join me?" Hyde asked.

"Sure, sounds like fun. I'll go get her." Jackie got up and walked to Elizabeth's room. "Hey, Sweetie?"

"Mommy. Did you scare him again? He promised he wouldn't weave us again!" Elizabeth said throwing the purple unicorn on the floor and stomping on it.

"No, baby he didn't leave. I just came to get you. Steven wants us to go with him and check out his new restaurant."

Elizabeth quickly picked up the stuffed toy and apologized to it. "Oh. Yay!! We're going on a fiewd trip!"

"Don't forget to grab your raincoats. I saw on the news this morning that it's supposed rain pretty badly today." Hyde said as he saw Jackie and Elizabeth reappear.

Jackie just shook her head. She didn't understand why he worried so much about becoming Bud and Edna when he was nothing like them at all. She was sure that he was going to be a great father, even if he had five years to make up for. Five years that Elizabeth would most definitely make him make up for.

* * *

Ok, you know what to do. Review. It's good for your soul. Hyde says so. : ) 


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